By Chester Robards Senior Business Reporter

Copyright thenassauguardian

Bahamian Contractors Association (BCA) President Leonard Sands said yesterday that the BCA is still holding Prime Minister Philip Davis to his word that the government-appointed contractors board would be established before the end of this month.

“We’re going to hold him to his word, the end of September is fast approaching,” said Sands on the sidelines of the BCA’s monthly luncheon.

“We understand that he’s away on travel taking care of national business. But the construction community is still in dire need to have the contractors board appointed, so that we can get everyone who wants to deliver the best service to the Bahamian public licensed to do so.”

Contractors have been waiting to become license holders in their profession for a long time, just like those they work hand-in-hand with in the industry like architects, engineers, and electricians. However, no government has appointed a board as required by legislation to hand out these licenses.

“You will need to have some level of education. You will need to be compliant with a business license. You will need to have your TCC [tax compliance certificate]. You will need to have your NIB [National Insurance Board] and other documentation intact. And then you present yourself to the board and say ‘I’d like to be registered and licensed as a contractor’. So, what the BCA is doing is we are preparing our contractors for that process.”

Sands has sought for the appointment of the board for years. He said that one of the important aspects of being licensed is that it makes professionals much more accountable to the customers.

Sands has warned before that there is little consumers can do when confronted with a bad contractor, because there is nobody to ensure those calling themselves contractors are able to do the job.

“I think, if we’re really honest, there are a lot more complaints that don’t even get to the Consumer Protection Commission,” he said.

“Not everyone is going to have the strength to say, I got railroaded. We’ve seen it all, so for us, wanting to clean up the construction community, it’s for the consumer to get the benefit.”